Vandals damage headstones at historic Reno cemetery
RENO — Reno police are investigating damage to several headstones in an apparent attack of vandalism at a historic cemetery near the University of Nevada campus.
Police say at least four headstones at Hillside Cemetery were damaged late Saturday or early Sunday. The markers date to the 1800s and are considered of historic value.
Authorities estimate the damage in the range of $15,000 to $20,000.
The cemetery is the final resting place for a number of the area’s early pioneers, including a congressman and Paiute Chief Johnson Sides, who worked as an interpreter and “peacemaker” for the U.S. Army.
The cemetery’s owner stirred up controversy last year when he announced plans to dig up 1,000 graves and relocate them to make room for development. The plans were put on hold in the face of opposition from family members and local residents.
New York kidnapping suspect arrested in southern Nevada
PAHRUMP — A 23-year-old man sought in connection with the disappearance of a woman in upstate New York has been arrested in southern Nevada on charges of kidnapping, sexual assault and battery with a deadly weapon.
The Nye County sheriff’s office says they arrested Jon Turner of Elmira, New York after the 25-year-old victim managed to escape Thursday from a motel in Beatty about 120 miles (193 kilometers) northwest of Las Vegas.
She says Turner allegedly beat and choked her then left her unconscious on a street before taking her back to the motel and handcuffing her to furniture.
Deputies say he eventually injured her with a hatchet. Investigators determined the pair had been reported missing in New York in late August.
Turner was being held Monday in the Nye County Jail on $275,000 bail. It’s not clear if he has a lawyer.
Murder-suicide suspected at north Lake Tahoe motel
KINGS BEACH, Calif. — Authorities are investigating an apparent murder-suicide at a motel on the north shore of Lake Tahoe.
The Placer County sheriff’s office originally said they were investigating what appeared to be a homicide after deputies responding to a report of shots fired found two victims at the Northwood Pines Motel in Kings Beach at about 4 p.m. Saturday.
But the sheriff’s office said in a statement Monday afternoon a preliminary investigation indicates the manager of the long-term rental motel shot and killed a female tenant before turning the gun on himself.
Deputies say the manager showed up at the woman’s room, started arguing then pulled out a gun and shot her. He also fired at the woman’s boyfriend but missed as the boyfriend escaped through a bathroom window.
Official: 4 inmates hurt in fight at top-security Ely prison
ELY — A state official says a fight in a wing of Nevada’s maximum-security prison in Ely left four inmates injured, including two who were taken to hospitals in Las Vegas, 250 miles away.
Department of Corrections spokeswoman Brooke Keast didn’t immediately say Friday what sparked the melee involving men using handmade weapons about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at Ely State Prison.
She says about 40 inmates in two groups were involved, and that guards contained the fighting.
Keast says two inmates were treated at local hospitals, one underwent surgery and all four were returned to the prison by Friday.
She described the injuries as stab wounds that were not life-threatening.
No staff members were injured.
Ely State Prison has about 1,100 inmates, and houses the state’s death row and execution chamber.
Minor injuries as small plane lands on Las Vegas golf course
LAS VEGAS — A pilot and passenger came away with only minor injuries when their small plane made an emergency crash-landing into a pond on a Las Vegas golf course.
Las Vegas Fire and Rescue spokesman Tim Szymanski says the pilot reported that the plane’s engine failed Thursday and moments later reported that he was in the pond at Painted Desert Golf Club.
Szymanski says the pilot made a smart, split-second decision to take the plane down in an area where no buildings were and no one on the ground would be hurt.
The pair climbed out of the plane and met paramedics on a nearby street.
Names released of 2 victims of fatal accident at Nevada mine
BATTLE MOUNTAIN — The owner of a northern Nevada gold mine where two workers were killed in a collision involving a large haul truck has released the names of the victim.
SSR Mining Inc. says Pete Kuhn was a safety superintendent at the Marigold Mine in Valmy along U.S. Interstate 80 northwest of Battle Mountain. Omar Bernal was an open pit operator.
They were riding in a van that was run over by the truck Tuesday afternoon.
Seven trainees in the van were treated for minor injuries and released from an area hospital. The driver of the haul truck was hospitalized for treatment of shock.
Paul Benson, president and CEO of the mining company based in British Columbia, said Wednesday it will take some time to determine what caused the accident. The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration is investigating.
Stretch of Nevada highway honors fallen BLM firefighters
WINNEMUCCA — A stretch of state highway in northern Nevada is being named after two former firefighters for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management who died in the line of duty.
Gov. Brian Sandoval joined state transportation officials and others Thursday at the dedication honoring Will Hawkins and Jacob O’Malley along State Route 140 north of Winnemucca near the Oregon line.
The two men died in a single-vehicle rollover crash on the highway when a tire blew out in July 2016 while on a routine patrol searching for lightning-sparked fires.
O’Malley was from Zephyr Cove and Hawkins was from Reno. Friends and family members gathered at Thursday’s ceremony to unveil signs in each direction designating a 12-mile stretch of State Route 140 in their honor.
The stretch extends northwest from U.S. Highway 93 to the Oregon line.
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